NASFAA Books

You're the Director: A Guide to Leadership in Student Financial Aid

Whether you're the financial aid director or an understudy rehearsing for the leading role, our newest publication, You're the Director: A Guide to Leadership in Student Financial Aid, can help. This book is our first-ever anthology, written by financial aid professionals for financial aid professionals. Think of the authors as your personal acting coaches! The pages are packed with their guidance on leadership concepts, long-term planning, change management, budgeting, and so much more.

If you're just starting out, this book provides advice to help you learn the craft. (Remember, Spielberg had to start somewhere, too!)

If you're a seasoned professional looking to hone your skills, this must-have book can help you direct an award-winning financial aid office. Either way, you're guaranteed to steal the show! Meet the authors to get a sneak peek!

Order your copy today!

New! e-Book Edition

Paperback Edition

Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.

The Art and Science of Student Aid Administration in the 21st Century

Who should pay for college? Who should be helped? How long should assistance last? This latest book by student aid veteran Joseph A. Russo explores these and many other fundamental questions in financing American postsecondary education. Each chapter takes on an important topic and reviews and highlights various aspects of the student aid, such as its history, the concept of need, tax policies, special challenges, future issues, and much more.

NASFAA President Emeritus A. Dallas Martin, Jr. writes,

"The book helps to put a number of student aid policy issues into proper context; explains the compassionate but differing views on these matters; describes why they occurred; and considers some of their subsequent consequences. As someone involved in administering and helping to formulate federal student aid programs and policy from 1968 to 2008, I would strongly recommend this publication to policy makers and higher education administrators at all levels who want to make America’s overall postsecondary system the best in the world."

About the Author

Joseph A. Russo has served as director of student financial strategies at the University of Notre Dame since 1978. He is the author or coauthor of three books and dozens of professional articles, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on major student aid public policy issues. He served as editor of NASFAA’s Journal of Student Financial Aid for 21 years, and has taught a graduate-level course in student aid administration at Notre Dame. In 2008 he was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.